The Enormous Asian Supermarket In Mississippi Where You’ll Find Snacks From 20 Countries
Mississippi is not the first state that comes to mind when the conversation turns to international grocery shopping. That assumption dissolves about thirty seconds after walking into this place.
Twenty countries worth of snacks sounds like a marketing claim until you are standing in front of a shelf of Japanese milk bread next to Korean honey butter chips. That, next to Thai coconut wafers next to something from the Philippines that has no English on the packaging.
Mississippi’s food culture has always been more layered than outsiders assume and this supermarket is one of the most vivid proofs of that in the state.
Come with curiosity and no fixed shopping list. Leave with things you have never tried and a very strong opinion about which one is coming home with you every week from now on.
A Store Unlike Anything Else In The South
Not every supermarket earns a reputation that stretches far beyond its zip code. Oriental Supermarket has built exactly that kind of name, drawing curious food lovers, home cooks, and adventurous eaters from across the region.
The moment you pass through the entrance, the sheer scale of what is inside catches you off guard in the best possible way.
The store holds row after row of products organized by country and category. You will find Japanese seasonings beside Korean pantry staples, and Filipino snacks shelved near Thai curry pastes.
The variety is not random. It feels carefully curated, like someone genuinely wanted every shopper to find exactly what they were looking for.
For anyone living in Mississippi who has struggled to find authentic Asian ingredients, this store is a reliable answer to that long-standing problem.
Mr. Chen’s Restaurant Right Inside The Store
Grocery shopping and a full restaurant meal rarely happen in the same building, but Mr. Chen’s Restaurant changes that equation entirely. Operating inside Oriental Supermarket, Mr. Chen’s serves traditional Chinese dishes that have earned serious praise from regular diners.
The menu is extensive, covering everything from vegetarian plates to hearty meat dishes and fresh seafood preparations.
Soup dumplings and Peking duck are among the most talked-about items on the menu. The roast duck, in particular, has a reputation that precedes it.
Diners who have tried it consistently describe it as a standout dish, well worth ordering above everything else on the table. The portions are generous and the pricing is reasonable for the quality delivered.
Having a restaurant attached to a supermarket creates a genuinely useful dynamic. You can taste an authentic dish at Mr. Chen’s and then head directly into the market to buy the ingredients and recreate it at home.
That kind of inspiration is hard to put a price on. The menu also includes a drink selection near the register, with options like coffee milk tea that are worth picking up on your way out.
Dining here feels casual but satisfying in a way that fancy restaurants rarely manage to replicate.
Oriental Supermarket On I-55 In Jackson, Mississippi
The full name of this remarkable place is Oriental Supermarket, also known as Mr. Chen’s Supermarket and Restaurant. You can find it at 5465 I-55 N Frontage Rd, Jackson, MS 39206, sitting right along a busy frontage road that makes it easy to spot and even easier to reach.
The store holds a 4.6-star rating, which tells you plenty before you even walk inside.
Regular hours run from 10 AM to 9 PM most days of the week. On Fridays and Saturdays the store stays open until 9:30 PM, giving you a little extra time to browse after work or on a weekend evening.
The extended hours are a thoughtful touch that shows the owners understand their shoppers’ schedules.
Wheelchair accessibility makes the store welcoming for everyone. The layout is spacious enough to move through comfortably even when the store is busy.
Parking is straightforward, and the location along I-55 means it is easy to add a stop here into almost any errand run in the Jackson area. Calling ahead at 601-978-1866 can help you confirm stock on specialty items before making the trip.
Fresh Seafood That Stops You In Your Tracks
Few things in a grocery store command attention the way a live seafood section does. Oriental Supermarket takes this seriously, offering an impressive spread that includes Dungeness crab, tilapia, eels, mollusks, baby squid, and other crustaceans.
The selection rivals what you would expect from a coastal fish market, not an inland Mississippi supermarket.
Live fish are available and can be cleaned on the spot upon request. That level of freshness is genuinely rare in this part of the country.
For anyone who has ever wanted to cook a whole fish at home and did not know where to start, having it cleaned fresh right in front of you removes one of the biggest hurdles.
The seafood section is one of the most talked-about parts of the store. Shoppers consistently mention the variety and competitive pricing compared to mainstream grocery chains.
Inventory rotates quickly, which keeps quality high throughout the week. If you plan to pick up seafood, bringing a cooler along is a smart move.
The selection is generous enough that you might end up with more than you planned, and that is absolutely not a complaint worth making.
Noodles Of Every Shape And Origin
Noodle lovers have found their paradise. The noodle aisle at Oriental Supermarket covers a staggering range of styles, origins, and preparations.
Japanese udon, thin Korean glass noodles, Vietnamese rice vermicelli, thick Chinese wheat noodles, and Filipino pancit all share shelf space in a section that takes genuine time to browse properly.
Udon noodles from Japan are a consistent favorite among regular shoppers. The store stocks both fresh and dried varieties, giving you flexibility depending on what you are cooking.
Rice noodles come in multiple widths to suit everything from a light broth soup to a stir-fried noodle dish with bold sauces.
Finding the right noodle for a specific dish is half the pleasure of cooking Asian food at home. Having all of these options in one place removes the guesswork and the frustration of substituting when a recipe calls for something specific.
Tea Collections That Deserve Your Full Attention
Tea culture runs deep across Asia, and the tea section at Oriental Supermarket reflects that beautifully. Unique tea leaves from China are a consistent draw for shoppers who take their brewing seriously.
The selection goes well beyond standard green tea bags and touches on oolongs, jasmine blends, aged pu-erh, and specialty herbal teas sourced from various parts of Asia.
Korean barley tea, Japanese sencha, and Taiwanese high-mountain teas share shelf space with more affordable everyday blends. The range makes it easy to find something for any occasion, whether you want a calming evening cup or a strong morning brew.
Gift-worthy tins and decorative packaging also make the tea section a good spot to find something for someone who appreciates quality.
Beyond the packaged teas, the store occasionally stocks accessories and tools related to tea preparation. The variety here genuinely rivals what you would find in a dedicated tea shop.
For anyone who has grown tired of the same three options at a regular grocery store, spending time in this aisle opens up a completely different world of flavor and tradition. Good tea is never just a drink.
At Oriental Supermarket, the selection treats it exactly like the experience it deserves to be.
Kitchenware And Cooking Tools You Actually Need
Cooking great Asian food at home requires the right tools, and Oriental Supermarket stocks a practical selection of kitchenware alongside its food products.
Bamboo steamers, which are essential for cooking dumplings and bao buns properly, are available at prices that make them easy to justify buying.
A good steamer changes the texture of dumplings in a way that no other cooking method can replicate.
Rice cookers, woks, clay pots, and chopstick sets round out the kitchenware section. For anyone setting up a kitchen with Asian cooking in mind, being able to pick up tools and ingredients in a single stop is a genuinely practical convenience.
The selection is not enormous, but it covers the essentials that come up most often in Asian recipes.
Small accessories like sauce dishes, soup spoons, and ramen bowls also appear in the kitchenware area. Having the right bowl for a noodle soup or the right dish for a dipping sauce is a small detail that adds up to a noticeably better experience at the table.
Beverages That Go Way Beyond Green Tea
Hello Kitty Banana Milk is real, it is delightful, and it lives in the beverage section of Oriental Supermarket. The drink selection here covers a range of imported options that are nearly impossible to find anywhere else in Mississippi.
Grass jelly drinks, lychee juice, canned Japanese coffee, coconut water from multiple countries, and bottled boba tea all share cooler space in a section that rewards slow browsing.
Near the register, the store also offers a small drink menu that includes freshly prepared options like coffee milk tea. Shoppers who discover this on their way out tend to come back specifically for it on future visits.
It is the kind of small bonus that turns a grocery run into something more enjoyable.
Packaged teas in bottle form, including Japanese barley tea and various fruit-infused varieties, round out the refrigerated drink options. The beverage section captures the same spirit as the rest of the store: broad, authentic, and full of things you have never tried before.
Why This Place Keeps Pulling People Back
Loyalty is earned, not given, and Oriental Supermarket has earned it from a remarkably dedicated customer base. Shoppers describe spending an hour inside and still feeling like they missed entire sections.
The store has that rare quality of always having something new to discover, no matter how many times you have visited before. Fast inventory rotation and an expanding product range keep the shelves feeling fresh on every trip.
The combination of a full grocery market and an authentic Chinese restaurant under one roof creates a destination that covers multiple needs in a single stop. You can eat a proper meal, pick up ingredients to cook at home, grab snacks for the week, and find a gift-worthy tea tin all in one visit.
That kind of efficiency is genuinely appealing to busy people who still care about quality.
Mississippi does not have an abundance of options when it comes to authentic Asian grocery shopping, which makes Oriental Supermarket even more valuable to the community it serves.
The store fills a gap that would otherwise send shoppers online or out of state.
More than that, it does so with consistency, variety, and a genuine sense of care for what it stocks. That combination is why the parking lot stays busy, why the reviews stay strong, and why people keep coming back long after their first visit.